


Artemis the Hunter

by letitrainathousandflames



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Other, Trans Male Character, Transitioning, af, angeline lacks a backbone and I'll go to my grave saying so, artemis' dad is a dick, as usual, butler is artemis dad, juliet is amazing, just the tumblr crowd maybe, love you guys, nobody's gonna read this, this is my first fic on ao3 i'm so nervous I might pass out, we all know that very well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 04:33:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11433243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letitrainathousandflames/pseuds/letitrainathousandflames
Summary: (Based off a recurring headcanon of a trans boy Arty)AU in which Artemis was assigned female at birth but realized throughout the years he actually felt like a boy inside.  Props to Butler for being Artemis' Actual Father™ and Juliet for being a cute lil cupcake of anger. Artemis Senior being a jackass, what's new? Sadness, angst and self acceptance.This is my first published fic in ages and my first on AO3 ever so please be kind?





	Artemis the Hunter

Artemis was the name of the hunt goddess. It sound fit for the heir of a criminal empire.

Back in the medieval ages, a woman who was to be the mother ancestor to the Fowls lineage wished for a baby girl, but had a boy instead. She put her foot down on the naming of the child though; Artemis was the name. “It’s not suited to a boy…” they said, but the noblewoman did not listened, not even when her husband tried to reason with her.

“I nurtured this child for nine months” said she, holding the small child in her arms “and promised they the name worthy of a hunter. If they turned out to be a boy, that doesn’t change my wish for him to be strong and fend for himself.”

“You have not given him the name of a hunter, but of a huntress!” complained the husband “This just doesn’t make any sense! A woman’s name will make him weak!”  
The wife whose name was Tália, the name of a greek muse that could make flowers grow, took a step towards her husband, her eyes glimmering dangerously and making her look rather threatening despite the child held tightly in her arms.

“A woman’s name will give him the strength of those who bleed every three moons. It’ll give him the strength to love and dance and laugh. And when the time comes for him to fight, he’ll know what to do because he’ll be a hunter too.”

The husband still complained for many years, mostly about the downfall of the family with a child who couldn’t wield a sword, but did not object any further for the name. So the tradition to grace the first male sons of the Fowl family with the name of Artemis began. Some of the later Fowls skipped it, too concerned about the implications of giving a traditionally female name to a boy but others researched the family history and would go back to the tradition.

When Angeline Fowl, married to Artemis Fowl sir who she dearly addressed to as “Timmy” heard of the tradition, she smiled and agreed to name their first son Artemis. And so certain they were of a son, they didn’t even have had a sonogram. They felt in their hearts – this is our baby boy Artemis.  
Except it was a girl. When the nurse gave a small, toothless, crying little child for a sweaty and tired Angeline to hold, she congratulated Angeline with a wide smile:

“It’s a girl!”

Angeline smiled surprised, holding her daughter close pressed to her chest, vowing to love her no matter what.

“Timmy, come on, touch her little cheeks!”, she whispered tearfully “they’re so soft!”

As to Artemis Senior…

He was disappointed. All his life he wanted a son, someone to pass on the teachings of his father, and of his father’s father before him and now, well. A girl couldn’t inherit his criminal empire. It never happened before. The Fowls were a lineage of strong-willed men – women were just too emotional. Angeline’s obsession with saving endangered species despite how much money her endeavors would cost… A woman ahead of the Fowl business would have them bankrupt in less than ten years.  
The girl held his finger in a strong grip. Artemis Senior frowned.

Artemis was nine and she had long black locks that fell to her mid-back when she asked her parents for a shorter haircut.

“Well, of course we could…” began Angeline

“No.” cut Artemis Senior sharply, not even lifting his eyes off his lobster dish “You look good with it as is. It suits you.”

Artemis wore a pink lacy dress, and her pale complexion made her look like a delicate china doll, but she was everything but submissive, and far too crafty to not have everything her way. Later promising to give all her desserts to a ten year old Juliet Butler for the following month, she convinced Juliet to stick a big chunk of gum on her hair, very close to the roots. Artemis rushed to her mother with a very unconvincing crying face, begging to have her hair cut to remove the gum. When Angeline demanded Butler to have a serious talk with his younger sister, things got more complicated.

“Mrs. Fowl, can I talk to Artemis for a minute?”, asked the bodyguard

Butler had offered both Artemis and Juliet a sit on each of the beautiful Victorian chairs, in the mansion’s library, and their feet would swing nervously, too far from the floor. The employee of the Fowls, who looked even taller now that they were sitting down crossed his arms, looked straight at Artemis as if his dark blue eyes could pierce the young girl.

“Juliet here tells me the whole gum incident was your idea, Miss Fowl. Is this true?”

Artemis swallowed around the lump in her throat, looking angrily at Juliet. The blonde shrugged nervously.

“Sorry, Arty! When he asked me why I stuck the gum on your hair, I just got nervous and confessed! I’m sorry!”

“Artemis?” called Butler, and Artemis sighed heavily, looking back at him in a rather gloomy manner “Why did you ask Juliet to do that?”

“Because I want to have short hair and my father won’t let me.”, confessed Artemis

Butler rose his eyebrows, uncrossing his arms.

“Well, can’t you convince him, instead of trying to cheat your way around it like that?”

Artemis blushed, her cheeks flushed with red, and she looked at her own shiny Gucci shoes.

“Father doesn’t want me doing anything “boyish”. He says that if I was born a girl, I have to be a perfect girl.”

She sounded rather angry. Butler frowned.

“Now that just doesn’t make sense. You’re can be a girl and have short hair.”

Artemis felt a huge affection for her assigned bodyguard, giving out a tentative smile.

“Yeah.” agreed Juliet “Your dad’s being a dumbass.”

“Juliet.”, said Butler in a warning tone to then turn to Artemis “Artemis, you really need to stand up for yourself. Look at you, you are the heir to the Fowls, you can’t be scared to go after what you want. You need to tell your father that you want your hair short.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Juliet merrily “If I cut my hair short too, we’ll be two girls with short hair! He can’t say it’s not a girl thing after that!”

“That is…” Artemis made a pause, frowning to then look surprised “statistically accurate.”

Juliet turned to Butler with a huge smile.

“Can I cut my hair, bro? Pleeeease? I’ll look cool like Winona Rider! Oh my god, can I get a mohawk?!”

Butler shook his head.

“Short hair, yes. Mohawks, no.”

“Pink highlights?”

Butler looked at his sister with a frown that flipped into a smile.

“Deal.”

Angeline’s reaction to the haircut (“Aw, Arty, you look adorable!”) gave Artemis enough confidence tried to show off her haircut to her father, but he was constantly busy lately. He was planning something huge, or so he said whenever Artemis knocked on his office door, “and please don’t bother me while I’m in the office”. And he’d be in the office… Well, the whole day.

Angeline wasn’t fond of that either. Apparently they were arguing a lot lately, and whenever Artemis Senior started to yell at her – and Artemis could hear everything despite the office’s closed door, Butler would just grab Artemis by the hand and gently guide her out of there to the farthest room of the house, which also turned out to be her favorite: the library. There, young Artemis could read for hours, while listening to Bach and Beethoven until the fighting was over.  
Artemis was reading the Illiad for the second time when she lifted his eyes off the book to look at Butler, who was absently skimming through a good old Guns and Ammos magazine.

Artemis could hear that Juliet was in her room watching a WWE wrestling match, screaming “smash him, Undertaker” to the top of her lungs. Both that and her parent’s fight probably meant they wouldn’t be interrupted anytime soon. She drew a breath, trying to get the courage to say what she wanted to.  
Butler was there for her when she fell and scrapped her knee at the backyard. He was there when she developed her first app without any help, which took so much of the computer capacity it caught on fire. He was there when she needed strength to have her hair cut. Surely he could help her with that. Why did she was fluent in English, French, Chinese and German but somehow now seemed unable to form words? Where were the syllables? Unforgivable.

She cleared her throat, and Butler looked up to her, his back straight, ready to take an order. Nowhere to run now. Her heart pounded in her chest, her face felt steaming hot. Was it the nervousness or did she have a fever, really? Her eyes got caught at Butler’s suit. A beautiful black three-piece from Armani, she could tell from the seams on the cuffs. The tie, however, was a Hugo, she knew the pattern.

“I like your suit.”

Butler looked at himself on a reflex, and he smiled back at Artemis, whose heart was still hammering in her chest.

“Thank you.”

She drew another breath, one, to speak, and two, to not hyperventilate to death.

“Do you think one of those would… would look good on me?”

Butler looked again at himself, then to Artemis, .

“I… I don’t know, Miss Fowl. Do you think it would?”

Artemis dug her manicured nails on her long yellow skirt, handpicked by Angeline. She hated bright colors, but loved her mother too much to say no.

“I…”, she swallowed hard “I like the suits you and Father wear. His polo shirts too, they make him look sharp, and his loafers. But… But maybe I’d just look stupid on them.”

Butler looked at Artemis’ face for what it seemed to be a long time, and the girl wished those dark blue eyes would stop analyzing her. She wished he’d just laugh at her face and get it over with.

“I’ll buy you one.”, he said, looking back at his magazine

Artemis glared at Butler in shock, shaking her head softly.

“You’ll… I’m sorry?!”

“I’ll buy you one.” Butler repeated, flipping a page now “Which one do you prefer? Boss? Lauren? Your father always recommends me the Armani ones, and I like them”, he gave what could be perceived as a very discreet smile “The breast have just enough extra room for making my gun holster unnoticeable.” he made a pause, frowning “Don’t tell your father I said that, please. I’m not supposed to mention my… work stuff.”

Artemis blinked. “Surprised” was not an emotion that would hit her often.

“You… You can’t buy me a suit”, she said in a defeated tone “Father would never allow it.”

“Who said I’m going to say I’m buying you a suit?” asked Butler, still flipping through the magazine absently “I’ll get my sister a present. If she dislikes it and passes it to you brand new and still in the box… Well, that’s just tough luck. I was never good at guessing what Juliet likes. Last time I gave her a Barbie doll she said ‘thanks bro, but next time get me some boxing gloves’”.

He looked briefly at Artemis, and gave her a wink. Artemis felt a strange emotion bubbling in her chest and caught the words in her throat, stopping herself just in time before she said “thank you, father”. The regret that followed the feeling hit her like one of Juliet’s “playful” punches.  
She had a father, and he was Artemis Senior. But why did she feel so much more confidence when it came to Butler? Why did she feel safe with Butler and Juliet, and at unease with Artemis Senior and Angeline?

Juliet was happy to play dress-up with Artemis, helping her put on the clothes “Juliet” had gotten as a gift from her older brother. Nobody batted an eye at Butler’s choice for a gift – there was Butler’s weird wrestling-loving sister giving a try at men’s fashion. They would be shocked if they saw Artemis buttoning up her shirt and putting on the dark grey jacket Butler chose in her exact size – he’d had a good eye for clothing, learned from his uncle. The Major was Artemis Senior’s personal shopper. Artemis checked herself in the mirror wide-eyed and Juliet was jumping happily up and down.

“You look so cute! Just like a boy!”

Artemis turned to her in the middle of trying to tie up her bowtie, and her voice was hoarse, her throat dry.

“Do you really think so?!”

Juliet didn’t look so happy now. Actually, she was rather pale.

“Uh, sorry.” she said nervously “Didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean it, like… no offense! Please don’t cry, Arty!”

“But I’m not…”, and then Artemis felt the wetness on her face; she was crying.

She turned to look at herself at the mirror again, eyes watery and red-faced, the edges of her shoulders now sharpened by her jacket, the looser trousers not sticking to her thin legs, the black hair carefully combed to the side.

Oh.

I look like a boy.

That was when the tears came harder, and she wanted to hide, to be alone, away from Juliet, from everyone, so she just pushed Juliet out of the closet, slamming the door shut on her face. Artemis stumbled to the back of the closet, pulling her knees close and sniffling, wiping her running nose and blinking away the tears. For some reason, she remembered the words she heard her father spear while locked in the office with his mother, right after her request to cut her hair short.

She’s a girl. - he had said - She was born a girl, she will die a girl, and she might as well get used to living as a girl.

She was a girl, a girl, a girl, she was trapped to that body, to that fate, to that life, and there was nothing she could do, and all this cross-dressing nonsense was a terrible idea and only made her even more confused, she should stop playing pretend and just go back to the dresses and the makeup and the manicure, she kinda liked the manicure anyway—

A knock cut her rapid train of thoughts, followed be Butler’s low, worried voice.

“Artemis? Juliet says she’s worried about you. She left now, and I’m the only one here. Can you come out of there, please?”

Butler was a seven-feet tall hunk of a man who weighed 200 pounds of pure muscle. He could ram that door in as if it was made of paper if he wanted to, thought Artemis, holding her knees even closer now. But his voice, still low and worried came softly through the door once again:

“I won’t make you come out if you don’t want to, Artemis. Can I maybe come in?”

Artemis took a long time before answering:

“Okay.”

Butler got into the closet lit by the white LED lamps, kneeling in front of Artemis but not too close to her. The bodyguard kept his tone low and collected:

“Juliet said she said you looked like a boy and you got angry. I that what happened?” Artemis shook her head. “What happened then?”

Artemis wiped a cheek on which a tear had been rolling down.

“I didn’t get angry. I got happy.” Butler didn’t say anything, and Artemis swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Can girls like me be boys? I… I want to… No…”

It wasn’t “I want to be a boy”. That wasn’t the phrasing. Then what was it? C’mon, brain, whole nights spent reading greek classics and scientific papers to not be able to explain herself? Where was the precious vocabulary she took so much pride on?

“I… I think I’m a boy. But…” she shook her head “But my voice and my body and my gender…!”

“Do you know why did I become a bodyguard?” interrupted Butler sharply

Artemis stopped stuttering dead on her tracks, lifting her wet eyes to Butler.

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you know why did I become a bodyguard?”

Artemis scratched her head, gripping the back of her neck. She could never leave a question without an answer. That had always been the easiest way to make her stop crying on the few occasions in which she did.

“Because of your uncle… right? Father’s bodyguard, Major Butler.”

Butler nodded.

“Yes. I was born in a family of bodyguards, and every first son of my family undergoes training since the age of fourteen in order to become the best bodyguard for their assigned protégée. There is no alternative. And it’s a job for life. I’m forever tied to you and to the duty of protecting your life, Artemis. But when I got to my first lesson at Madam Ko’s academy, she asked me a question I didn’t answer, so she punched me in the gut and while I was almost heaving on the ground she bent over to me and asked it again: ‘who are you?’; So I answered: ‘I’m Butler, nephew to the Major, and I’m here to become the best in my job like he is.’ That was when she punched me again.”  
Artemis was wiping her face now, attentively listening to Butler’s tale, and he continued:

“So she leans over to me and say ‘I’m not asking what others made of you. I’m asking who are you’. And I was there thinking, this lady is bananas.” Artemis giggled, and Butler gave a small smile “So I say, ‘I’m here to follow my lineage’. Then she hits me on my back and I’m just lying on the dirt, miserable as I can be while the others were laughing at me, and she repeats ‘Who. Are. You?’ and I just scream ‘I’m Butler, and I’m here to beat the time record of the blue diamond!’ Now you see, the others were laughing even harder now, but Madam Ko was smiling, and she said ‘there. That’s who you are. You are not what others say. You are what you make of yourself. Now get up. If you want to get the blue diamond at the age of eighteen, a year younger than your uncle, you have plenty of work to do.” he made a pause “Gosh, I wish Juliet would hear my stories as quietly as you do. Did you get the lesson?”

Artemis wanted to nod, but in the end she just cocked her head to the side. Butler sighed.

“You decide who you are. Do you feel like you’re a boy?” Artemis hesitated, then she nodded. “well then it’s settled. You’re a boy, and from now on I’ll treat you that way. How does that sound, Mr. Fowl?”

A shiver ran through Artemis’ spine. Mr. Fowl. It sounded so right. That was who he was. Mr. Fowl. Artemis Fowl the Second. A boy.

“Will I…” he cleared his throat “Will I have to stop getting manicures? Or wearing makeup?”

Butler shrugged.

“Only if you want to. They won’t change the fact you’re a boy, sir.”

Artemis knew the "sir" was unnecessary, but it made him feel so good he had to work hard to restrain himself from getting up and hugging butler. Instead, he got to his feet, holding a black thin strap of fabric up to his bodyguard.

“Can you teach me how to tie a bowtie?”

 

When Artemis went to his father office, he knocked on the door to be greeted by his mother voice:

“Who is it?”

“It’s Artemis, mother.”

“Artemis, sweetie, come on in.”

And Artemis did, shaking from head to toe while Juliet and Butler smiled encouragingly until he closed the door softly on them. Angeline looked at him once, and then did a double-take. Artemis Senior didn’t look up from the pile of papers he was signing. He was wearing his winter coat, his gloves sticking a bit out of his pocket. Was Father going out?

“It looks good on you sweetie.”, complimented Angeline kindly “Going for a different look?”

At that, Artemis Senior looked up at Artemis and his short combed hair, his gaze lingering at his torso to then go down to his pants and his leather shoes. Artemis Senior rolled his eyes, getting back to his paperwork. Artemis swallowed hard.

“Yes, about that.”, said Artemis, placing his hands behind his back, his posture flawless as ever “Mother, Father, I think I need to be honest with you.”

“About what, my dear?” encouraged Angeline smiling softly

Artemis Senior merely grumbled, still busy with his paperwork. Artemis took a deep breath. It was just like telling Butler. Couldn’t be so hard.

“I think I’m actually a boy.”

Silence. Sudden and deafening silence. And then…

“Oh. Oh, that’s okay, sweetie.”, said Angeline kidnly, walking to Artemis and pulling him into a hug “If this is how you feel, then I’m glad you’re sharing this with us.” She kissed Artemis’ forehead softly “I love you, honey. I always will. We love you, and nothing will change that.”

Artemis fell a warmth in his chest. Maybe Butler was right. Maybe this didn’t have to be so hard.

“Father?” he called nervously, his voice shaking “Are you… Are you okay with this?”

Artemis Senior got up abruptly, gathering his paperwork and holding it under his arm while he pocketed his pen. He then walked towards Artemis, but raised his hand to the gold doorknob beside him instead, taking a minute to look into Artemis’ eyes. His tone was cold and deprived of any feelings.

“You can’t change who you are, Artemis. Don’t make a fool of yourself.” He looked up to Angeline, his dry tone unfamiliar to a man talking to his wife “I’m leaving now to handle the soda situation in Russia. See if your obsession with the lemur is gone until I come back.”

Artemis had his eyes wide in shock. Not because of the words (which stang and stabbed and hurt), but at the fact unknown until that very moment.

“You’re traveling? To Russia?”

Artemis Senior hummed, checking his watch to then open the door.

“Make sure your mother doesn’t blow all of our money while I’m out.” He looked back down to Artemis “Do you want to be with girls? Be my guest, but do it as the girl you are. Don’t come with this ‘I’m a boy’ nonsense. You are a girl. Give up on being anything else.”

The sound the door made being slammed shut seemed to echo in Artemis’ ears for the next two years.

 

Months later, Juliet was punching the bag so hard Artemis was worried about her flinging it off the handle, but it was nonsense. Butler trained on that thing and it never snapped.

“I’m! So! Angry!”, she drove a punch with every word, spinning around and landing a kick to the back

Artemis was typing yet another email to his father to then delete it without sending. Every day he would do that, the same ritual, the same truths and bitter words followed by shame and then deleting the damn file. No news since he went to Russia, and all Angeline would talk about was her crumbling marriage and the damn lemur.

“Why can’t I be a bodyguard?!” screamed Juliet to the bag as if it would answer her “Why can’t I go to Ko’s and kick some ass?! ‘I don’t want this life for you’, well fuck off you’re not supposed to decide my life, bro!”

“Juliet. Language.” Said Artemis calmly, not even looking up from his phone

Juliet put a towel on her shoulders, walking to Artemis and sitting by his side on the dojo bench, her breathing still shallow and ragged.

“Dumb brother… Trying to protect me from whatever… I can protect myself… I can kick anyone’s ass. I can kick my own ass.”

Artemis didn’t laugh. He haven’t even smile not even once ever since his father had left. Juliet’s phone rang, and she pulled it out of her leggings’ pocket, turning off the timer alarm with the tip of her green-painted nail.

“Time to get you mother’s lunch done. Maybe today she’ll leave the bed, eh?”, she smiled tentatively at Artemis “And shouldn’t you be at school today?”

“Have been skipping it for two months now.” replied Artemis rolling another fake article on the myths of fairy and their gold being real on his rose gold Iphone screen “Sent a letter to the principal saying mother wished to educate me at home and faked her signature.”

Juliet nodded, getting up. No meddling in the superior’s business.

“Wish I could do the same and fake Butler’s driver’s license. I’m dying to take that Bentley for a ride.”

She winked playfully and walked away, her blond hair reaching her shoulders tied up in a tight braid. It had grown pretty fast ever since she’d had it cut with Artemis almost a year ago.

“Juliet, do you think this phone color is girly?” he asked before she could reach the dojo’s door

“Do you think the way I kicked that punching bag is? Excuse me, Artemis, I must check mrs. Fowl.”

And with that, Juliet left. She’d been answering all of Artemis gender-related questions with more questions lately. Artemis liked to think it was her way to make him feel better about the whole transition thing. She had told him all about binders, undergarments, haircuts, makeup. Artemis would like to apply some eyeliner every now and then, and Juliet would sigh “you have got to do mine too, I don’t have your steady hand”. Butler on the other hand had taught him all about different necktie knots. Artemis knew more variations then Butler himself now, and his bodyguard’s proud smile made him feel really happy, even though he’d never admit that, not now that he was almost ten and needed to be more grownup and take care of himseld. Everything about the Butlers was amazing. They were proud, kind and supportive.

The Fowls, unfortunately, weren’t. Mr. Fowl was still unreachable in Russia and due to the criminal nature of his trip, it wasn’t like Artemis could ask the local authorities for any news. Meanwhile, Angeline had spent most of her days in bed, humming the song to which she danced with Artemis Senior on her wedding day.  
Artemis stayed up very late that night, still skimming through news and articles on fairies. He knew, he felt there was something there. Something made for him to steal, to claim his, like the Fowls have done for so many years. A prey of his own, for he was Artemis, the hunter, and he had to make his father proud of him at last.

He yawned, stretching his back and finally getting up from the library desk. The boy was going to step out the door when he saw Butler coming fast down the corridor. Oh, good, he thought to himself, I’ll ask him to bring me a cup of good, black, insomnia-driving coffee.  
Butler didn’t look at him, not even gave him a nod. It was as if he was in such a rush he didn’t see Artemis. His features were demonstrating an emotion he’d never associated with his bodyguard before. Fear.

Butler knocked on Angeline’s bedroom door, and her voice asked him to come in. It had been a good day for Angeline today. She’d left her room and went to the garden to breathe some fresh air and even let Juliet call her manicurist to get her nails done. Artemis felt the curiosity gnawing at his guts and he followed Butler’s steps, eyeing through the small crack he’d left open.

Angeline was getting up off her chair, looking at Butler with concern in her eyes.

“You sounded so worried over the phone, Butler. What happened?”

Butler’s face was lit by the dim lights of the crystal chandelier, and he hesitated. That was too weird, thought Artemis, Butler never hesitated.

“Madam, there is no easy way to tell you this, so I’ll just get it over with quickly.” he said, and his voice sounded strange; like if someone else was talking through Butler’s mouth.

No emotions, but not like he was hiding his emotions. It was as if he couldn’t feel any.

“The Fowl star sank.”

Angeline covered her mouth with both hands, gasping. Butler swallowed hard, averting his eyes from her, and Artemis had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from making a noise.

“My uncle…”, Butler cleared his throat “The Major was found. He did not make it.” Angeline’s eyes grew wide, glistening with tears “Artemis Fowl Sir is missing, and the Russians authorities are searching the waters for him as we speak.”

Angeline’s entire being trembled, and her voice came high-pitched from between her fingers.

“No, no, you must’ve got it wrong, it can’t be, not my Timmy…”

“I’m very sorry, Madam.” said Butler, and it sounded like he was speaking through his pain; Artemis knew that his only known living relative was his uncle, and he never spoke of his own parents, so as far as Artemis knew, Butler was feeling orphaned too. “The Russian Mafiya did threaten your husband, so there’s a possibility…”

“No.” said Angeline again, shaking her head violently “No no no, it can’t be, I want my husband, I want my Timmy back, no! No!”

She was screaming now, and Butler took a step forward, pulling Angeline into an embrace. Angeline did not fight, her cries muffled against his jacket while the bodyguard stroke her hair softly, saying he was sorry over and over again. When it was possible to make sense of any of what Angeline was saying, Artemis could hear her say:

“Don’t tell Arty… Don’t let him know… He’s just a little boy…”

Artemis stumbled back, his eyes wide, and rushed back to his room as fast as he could. He had to be quick. Plan a whole operation to rescue his father – because he was alive, had to be, had to come back alive and look at him in the eye and say he was proud of his boy, of his son. And if it took him being rescued from the Mafiya by his own eleven-year old son, then be it. But first, he needed that money. He could make a small favor for the Extinctionists. Disgusting group of people, but very rich, and the security systems could be easily taken care of by Butler in order to steal an animal they wanted. Then, the next step was getting his father back.

I’m Artemis, the hunter.

He sat back at his computer, taking a look the Extinctionist’s list of animals they wanted to kill he had saved already. Something small, easy to hide… There. A lemur. The lemur his mother had been so obsessed about before his father left. Perfect. He had his prey.

I’m Artemis, the hunter.

He cracked his knuckles, determined to get to the end of this. Everything would be his. The money, his father, the pleasure of humiliating all who’d dare to stay in his way. This was his shot, and he wouldn’t let it go.

I’m Artemis, the hunter.


End file.
